Why have some places escaped a hosepipe ban?

Successive heatwaves have left water supplies under strain, with 71.3% of England now in drought.

More than 27 million people in England and Wales have been placed under a hosepipe ban as some water companies struggle to cope with the dry weather and high demand for water.

In the South of England this includes 10.1 million Thames Water customers and about one million Southern Water customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

However, most of Dorset has managed to avoid a hosepipe ban. So why have some areas managed to escape it?

Wessex Water, which supplies water to most of Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset, as well as parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire, as well as Bournemouth Water, which supplies Bournemouth, do not currently have hosepipe bans in place.

This means that Lyme Regis, which is supplied by South West Water, is currently the only part of Dorset subject to a hosepipe ban after the company introduced restrictions on 14 July.

Wessex Water has managed to avoid introducing a hosepipe ban since 1976.

Director of Water Supply Will Willoughby told the BBC the company's water sources were in a "stable position".

"We're in a very fortunate position that 75% of our water resources comes from underground sources, rather than the traditional surface water reservoirs as most other companies do," he told Radio Solent Dorset.

"We do have a few surface water reservoirs and they're at around 58% full at the moment, which around where we'd expect to see them for this time of year.

"And our underground sources are also stable, so we're just shy of a metre above the same time last year."

However, he warned that sources would only continue to be stable "as long as we use water wisely".

He said the water company was seeing a "high demand" and was asking customers to help by making "small changes", such as avoiding washing their cars.

"It's not just on our customers, we as a company are doing a huge amount as well, our teams are out in the field working night and day maintaining our network to keep the water flowing," he added.

This week, parts of the UK are expected to experience the fifth heatwave of the year, with temperatures forecast to peak at 36C on Thursday, according to the Met Office.

This summer has been one of extreme heat and dry conditions, with two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to the deaths of more than 2,800 people, followed by further heatwaves in July.

Richard Stanbrook, general manager of drinking water services at Bournemouth Water, said the prolonged hot weather over the last few weeks, paired with firefighting activity from recent large fires, had "resulted in exceptionally high demand on our drinking water network".

He said: "To help protect water supplies across the network and reduce the risk of supply interruptions, we are asking customers to reduce their water usage where possible until temperatures begin to drop.

"We all need to use water wisely in these extreme conditions, and small changes can make a big difference."